The invention relates to a device for collecting digitally and preferably sequentially printed products, which are supplied to a collecting cylinder that rotates around an axis, the device comprising a drive, a holding device for holding and releasing the printed products collected in the peripheral area of the collecting cylinder, an activation device for controlling the holding device, and a diverter with a pivoting axis that extends parallel to the collecting cylinder axis and can be used for lifting the collected printed products off the collecting cylinder, such that they can be transported away with the aid of a conveying device. For the collecting of the printed products, the diverter can be displaced by a control unit to a non-operating position during the interval between two successively following printed products and with the timing of the supplied printed products. For the conveying away of the printed products from the collecting cylinder, the diverter can be displaced to an operating position, in which the exposed end of the diverter is inserted into the surface area of the collecting cylinder.
German patent document DE 103 15 443 A discloses a device for collecting printed products, for example signatures for producing a newspaper, in the peripheral area of a collecting cylinder. The collected products can be released jointly and can be supplied, for example, to a folding machine. The collecting cylinder can simultaneously be embodied as a folding cylinder that is provided with folding blades in the peripheral area.
In order to collect the printed products in the peripheral area of the collecting cylinder, this cylinder is provided with a holding device that can be activated relative to the peripheral area of the collecting cylinder.
European patent document EP 1 471 022 A1 discloses a device for holding in place the printed products collected on a collecting cylinder with the aid of a holding mechanism, which comprises holding elements for holding down the printed products arriving at an end stop. A conveying belt that follows the collecting cylinder is provided for transporting away the printed products collected on the collecting cylinder. In order to transfer the collected printed products to the conveying belt, several transfer-out elements are provided, which form a diverter and can be pivoted around a pivoting axis extending parallel to the axis of rotation for the collecting cylinder. The transfer-out elements are inserted in the area of the collecting cylinder under the printed products to be transferred out. During the process of collecting the printed products, the transfer-out elements are pivoted away, such that they cannot enter the area of the collecting cylinder and are not operational. In one embodiment, the device is designed for assembling printed products that are sequentially printed in a digital printer.